The other day I was dropping my poodles off at the kennel and I noticed that I was a couple of miles overdue for an oil change. I mentioned this to my wife and she said that is has almost been a year since it was last changed. I could not comprehend this because I try to change oil every 3-4 thousand miles. I stated that cannot be right, it had to be more miles and we debated this for a little while when it was settled after she said it was changed when the dealership replaced a seal for my window nearly one year ago.
The point of this is that in during a 1 year I will have put less than 4,000 miles on my car. I typically ride 4 days per week and it is amazing how many miles are saved by riding a bike. Not only the 16 miles (round trip) every day but the additional miles I put on as I go to a bike shop at lunch or drive to the store for something to eat or drink. I am much less likely to just kill a lunch hour by driving around and I can walk the ½ mile to get my munchies.
I then told my wife to think of all of the money I have saved us. Then she became Debby Downer and pointed out that everything I think I had saved on gas went into bicycles. While it is true that I increased my fleet by two during this time period and also bought numerous tires, inner tubes, brake pads, wheels, chains……I think the important thing is that I would have probably bought random bike stuff anyway. Therefore I saved money!!
I am not sure that I help the environment much; I consume tires, inner tubes, chain lube, and peanut butter w/honey sandwiches like they are going out of style. What I have noticed is that my overall attitude, mental health, and physical conditioning have improved. Those are the best reasons I can think of to ride a bike.
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